Mangerton in Sunshine And Showers

Today I went for a ramble with Frank to Mangerton near Killarney. This mountain from a distance is a big unassuming and uninspiring lump of a mountain but when you explore it more has some of the most spectacular mountain features to be found in the entire area. The glorious weather of earlier in the month is now a thing of the past and with low pressure dominating the weather and frequent thundery rain forecast we expected to get a drenching or two at some point of our day and we weren't to be disappointed. However it was lovely warn sunshine that set us on our way and the warm humidity ensured that the sweat flowed as we made our way up and around into the Horses Glen. This area as well as being one of the most beautiful in the country is also the wettest spot in the country and sure enough we got our first blast of rain as we entered its depths. Thankfully things soon cleared and the exceptional clarity of the air and fresh sunshine ensured that the impressive cliffs of the north face of the mountain looked stunning.

Heading towards the Horses Glen

Impressive upper buttress

The stunning cliffs of the north face

Some weather all around

Spot the runners

 Frank was understandably still feeling the effects of his recent successful climb of Aneto, the highest summit of the Pyrenees and he struggled a bit on the steep pull to the top of Mangerton North. But we got there and descended to the col between it and Mangerton where we enjoyed a bite of lunch and looked at the procession of runners that were taking part in the annual Mangerton run. The speed and fitness of the leaders was impressive to behold but we were having an altogether more sedate outing. We set off across the arete to the summit of Mangerton and here our luck with the weather ran out and we got a proper drenching with big old drops of thundery rain quickly soaking through all of our rain gear. I have to say I actually enjoyed the rain as it had been a while since I had gotten such a good soaking and it becomes quite refreshing after a while. As we descended and the rain eased we could see across into the Black Valley which looked amazing in the brooding moody weather. We weren't too long getting back to the car where a change into nice dry clothes and it felt great. Our usual coffee was enjoyed in town and again we were well happy with our day. I am looking forward to our next outing again soon.

The Black Valley and the Reeks looking moody

Tell me why we do this again :o)